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Once again

5/21/2013

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Once again, my Facebook news feed is filled with pleas to pray for a specific place in our country. Echoes of earlier prayer calls fill my mind.

Pray for Oklahoma....pray for Boston....pray for Newtown...

Once again, there are parents waiting to hear if their elementary age children are safe. Victims of nature's fury rather than a gunman's wrath or terrorist's bomb, but does that matter when all you want is to know if your child is among the survivors?

Once again, our nation weeps, struggling to make sense of the senseless.

Once again, voices are raised, wondering why and where is God.

Once again, I keep my young daughter from the news, hoping to protect her sweet mind and heart from the hardships this world holds, just a little bit longer

Once again.

Once again, teachers put themselves on the line for their young charges. Heroes, every one.

Once again, communities band together in determination to rise again, stronger and better.

Once again, strangers give...money, shelter, clothes, prayers.

Once again, we see God's hand in the helpers...the first responders...the hospital workers...the churches...the miraculous reunions...and in those offering comfort and prayers where there is no miracle.

Once again, I hold my family close, thankful for each day.

Once again, I'm made aware of the pettiness of most of my complaints and the purpose of my days on Earth, to be the hands of God in the unexplainable and unendurable moments.

Once again, I'm reminded that God never wastes a hurt. He is big enough, powerful enough, good enough, loving enough to redeem this. Even this.

There is no answer to the why, not this side of Heaven.

But there is an answer to Who...Who can be trusted, Who we can turn to...and who will be His hands on Earth until the Day when tragedies cease and tears are dried for the final time.

Once again.

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Leadership Lessons Learned

5/14/2013

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Two years ago, I resigned from the teaching job I had been at for eleven years. I was leaving behind a school "family" that I loved and that loved me, to stay home and raise my children. I was excited at the new adventure I was beginning, but also nostalgic to leave behind the influence I had, not only on my students, but on other teachers in my department, where I had risen as a leader over the years.

The principal I had worked under retired the same year that I left, and at the time, I made a list of some of the lessons about leadership that I had learned from watching him (Sig, did you know you were being watched?). But it is only now, two years later, that I've been able to see how the things he modeled in a school environment are also applicable to my life as a stay-at-home mom.

Trust your people. Sig knew the strengths of his people. and he let us do what we did best. There was never any question in my mind that he trusted me as a teacher and expert in my field and that as long as I lived up to his trust in me, he would have my back in any situation. In the same way, I need to trust my kids to do what they can. It is so easy to try to micromanage my five-year-old, but when I recognize what she can do and let her do it, she will soar.
Recognize your people's accomplishments. I will never forget the faculty meeting where Sig recognized me for a successful meeting I had had with representatives from the state department of education who wanted information about a new test we were using. It had been stressful getting ready for it, and he chose to recognize me for it with a "Gatorade" award for endurance. It was an encouragement that something I had taken on as part of my job was seen as something special by my boss. I need to do this for my kids, too. My daughter thrives on recognition of her accomplishments, from potty training to learning to do chores to taking pictures of her many art projects. "Look at me, Mommy!" is her plea for me to notice the wonderful things that she does everyday.
Create an atmosphere of fun. Sig and the rest of his leadership team encouraged us to enjoy our work with faculty gatherings, theme days, and special events connected to teacher training days. It made it easier to come to work with a smile. I am trying to do this at home, too. It is so easy to get caught up with all I have to do and to put off my daughter's requests for a picnic or a tea party or a trip to the park, but those are the fun parts of childhood that she will remember and that nurture her sense of creativity. We've recently started a list of the fun things we want to invest our time in this summer - and I'm as excited as she is!
Nurture your culture. Sig created a "Summit Culture" and a "Summit way" of doing things. It gave us pride in our school and in ourselves. At home I want to nurture this, too, by nurturing my children's pride in our family's values and our family story. And I especially want them to know the story of God's people, the story of redemption, and the culture that comes from that.
Let your people know that you love them. I never doubted that Sig cared for his faculty and staff. He let us know in little and big ways, and it didn't matter what your education was or what your job was. If you worked for him, you mattered. At the end of the day, my kids need to know that I love them, no matter what else happened. If they are assured of that, everything else will fall into place.

Do you, or did you, work outside the home? What lessons from your job are you applying on the home front?

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Going backwards isn't always bad

5/4/2013

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You know the phrase, "one step forward, two steps back?" That popped into my mind today when we were playing The Ladybug Game with our daughter. My husband drew four or five cards that kept him in the same three space range - "Go forward two spaces; go back three spaces; go forward two spaces; go back one space." Then our daughter drew a card that sent her back a space just when she was ready to encounter the aphid-eating ants. Seeing her sudden pout, we were quick to reassure her, "Going backwards isn't always bad, honey. Maybe you can hit this good space again now!" And sure enough, her next turn sent her forward three and back two...to collect more aphids, which are like gold in The Ladybug Game. (You have to check this game out, incidentally. It is brilliant.)

I feel quite often like I am moving backwards. Maybe one of my children gets sick. Or a friendship that I thought was on the mend turns cold again. Or I am struggling to meet deadlines and something has to be left undone. I think I am ready to fly "home" and then something happens to slow me down.

But going backwards isn't always bad. Sometimes it forces me to rest, like when I developed mastitis shortly after our son was born. Sometimes it makes me reevaluate the direction I was heading in the first place, like when I wasn't accepted to the college I had applied to. And sometimes it sets me up for a new direction, new friendships, and a new ministry, like when our daughter Naomi died in my second trimester and, out of our hurt, I discovered the Hannah's Prayer ministries and, eventually, our pregnancy loss ministry Naomi's Circle was born.

In Joel 2:25, God promises, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten." That was not a promise to erase all of the pain of the past, but to redeem it for his glory and our good. God can, and will, bring good out of every backwards step in our lives.

When have you seen good come from going backwards? Share in the comments below!

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Once again

Leadership Lessons Learned

Going backwards isn't always bad

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